Ask Mr. Know It All

November 27, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Gary Clothier

Q. I came across some patches on an Internet auction that had the number 81. The seller claimed those patches were worn by members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club.

What does the 81 represent?

M.J., Stockton, Calif.

A. The number 81 represents the positions in the alphabet of the letters that begin the name Hells Angels — “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet, and “A” is the first letter.

Q. I’ll make a very long question short. While in Sweden with my family to visit my father’s ancestral home, we were in a museum where I saw an ancient metal musical instrument.

It was maybe 6 feet long but was bent in a circle to make it much shorter. You blew in one end, while the other end flared out. I would like to know the name of the instrument so I can do some more research.

S.O., Albany, N.Y.

A. It sounds as if you saw a lur. A lur, as you described, is about 6 feet long; some are straight while others are curved. Bronze lurs were made about 3,000 years ago. Not many have been found, maybe 50.

Q. Many years ago, I read that during the days of sailing ships, seamen used Bibles and prayer books to scrub the decks of ships. This made a lasting impression on me. I have always hoped to one day visit a maritime museum and ask about this. The visit has never happened. I saw your column and thought maybe you could shed some light on this lingering question.

S.C.V., Plainview, Okla.

A. Sailors used pieces of sandstone called “bibles” to scrub the wooden decks of their ships. Smaller pieces of sandstone used to clean the corners were called “prayer books.”

Maritime historians don’t know why the stones, collectively called “holystones,” were given those names. Possibly it was because, as you mentioned, the men were on their knees while scrubbing and looked as if they were in prayer.

Q. Could you tell me why Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete were dropped from the TV show “The Talk”?

B.J.D., Manhattan Beach, Calif.

A. “The Talk” premiered Oct. 18, 2010, on CBS and featured actress Sara Gilbert (the show’s executive producer), Julie Chen and Sharon Osbourne, along with Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete. Remini and Peete were said to be devastated when their contracts were not renewed, with no explanation from the network.

However, Remini drew heavy criticism after the first show for being loud and obtrusive. On a later episode, she said she would refuse to change who she is, a decision supported by her co-hosts but obviously not CBS.

In a recent interview, Peete said that to this day, she has no idea why she was not brought back.

Q. My brother and I are veterans of World War II. We are wondering: How many Allied ships were lost in the area known as Iron Bottom Sound?

L.F.M., Reading, Pa.

A. Iron Bottom Sound is in the South Pacific, north of the island of Guadalcanal. During the Guadalcanal Campaign (August 1942 to February 1943) of World War II, the Allies lost about 29 ships on and around Guadalcanal.

Many of these sank in Iron Bottom Sound, where the Allies fought five important battles against the Japanese between August and November of 1942.

Although I was not able to find an official count of the ships lost during these battles, I did check several maps of Iron Bottom Sound.

It appears Allied forces lost 14 ships in Iron Bottom Sound, while the Japanese lost fewer than 10.

Send your questions to Mr. Know-It-All at AskMrKIA@gmail.com or c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.